47. Subjectivism of Halle Pietists.--Following are some of the
aberrations of the Pietists in Halle: That doctrine was of minor
importance for, and as compared with, piety; that sanctification was not
contained in, but must be added to, faith; that repentance and
conversion were urged in such a manner as if man himself could force
them; that such Christians as could not tell of certain peculiar
penitential struggles and sensations of grace were regarded as
unconverted; that the assurance of salvation was not based on the
objective Word of God, but on subjective marks, notably such us were
found in those converted in the circles of the Pietists; that the
afflicted, instead of being comforted with the Gospel of the
unconditional pardon of the entire world, were bidden to feel the pulse
of their own piety; that such as did not manifest the symptoms of
conversion _a la_ Halle, were judged uncharitably and looked down upon
as not being truly converted; that the "revived" and "awakened" were
regarded as the real church in the Church, the _ecclesiolae in
ecclesia_. And what of the pietism of the Halle emissaries in
Pennsylvania? Dr. Mann declared concerning Muhlenberg and his
co-laborers: "Their pietism was truly Lutheran piety, a warm-hearted,
devout, practical Lutheranism." (Spaeth, 1, 318.) However, traces of the
morbid and infected Lutheranism cultivated by Pietists, were but too
apparent also in Muhlenberg and the associates carefully selected for
him by Francke and Freylinghausen in Halle. The piety for which they
strove so earnestly and zealously was, in more than one respect, neither
truly evangelical nor soundly Lutheran, but of a legalistic and
subjective nature. They delighted in evangelistic sermons designed to
convert men in the manner of Halle. They endeavored to ascertain who
were the truly converted in their congregations. As a standard they
applied their own experiences and as models the Halle converts. Instead
of immediately comforting terrified sinners with the full consolation of
the Gospel, they proved them "according to the marks of the state of
grace." _Graebner:_ "While Diaconus in Grosshennersdorf, Muhlenberg had
already published a polemical tract against Dr. Balthasar Mentzer, who
had attacked Pietism, and had pictured the time before the rise of
Pietism as a time of darkness, in which God had 'set up a true light
here and there, until at last the faithful servants of the Lord, the
sainted Spener, Francke, Breithaupt, Anton, and others arose' and 'again
brought forth the Bible.' At that time Muhlenberg advocated private
meetings for souls who had been 'awakened from the sleep of sin,' to
which the Burgomaster of Eimbeck referred when he sent word to
Muhlenberg 'to cease the pietistic conventicles, as they were against
the law of the land.'" (315.)
48. Converts, Prayer-Meetings, Revivals.--Brunnholtz, whose work was
highly praised by Muhlenberg, says of his parishioners, whom,
nevertheless, he admitted to the Lord's Table, that, for the greater
part, they were "totally blind and dead," people who had not yet
experienced any "true change of heart"; that in present-day
congregations one must "be content with the gleanings while looking and
waiting for traces of divine activity, where, when, in whom, and
whether the Spirit can give a rich harvest." It is only too true, he
continues, "that the great multitude, both old and young, are still
buried in carnal-mindedness and in great ignorance, and stand in need
of a true conversion." "There are indeed a few, some also in my two
congregations, concerning whom I have the well-founded hope that they
have been awakened from the spiritual sleep of sin and are being drawn
to the Son by the Father." "With regard to my congregation here in
Philadelphia, I am not able to boast very much of the majority and of
the outwardly great number, since there is still much corruption among
them. The Lord, however, has granted me a small remnant, who have been
awakened by the Word, and who earnestly seek after the paths of peace,
permitting themselves quietly, but in earnestness, to be prepared for
the rest of God." Muhlenberg says: "True repentance and conversion
according to the Word of God is a difficult matter and a rare
occurrence." "We continued our labors upon the inner and outward
upbuilding of the Church, because a small, divinely sanctified seed was
noticed among them." What Brunnholtz and Muhlenberg looked for in the
communicant members of their congregations whom they regarded as
unconverted were, no doubt, the Halle symptoms. In 1748 submissiveness
to be guided by the pastor was numbered among these marks. When the
elders of the congregation in Lancaster opposed their pastor and
insisted upon their opinion, which was not wrong by any means, they were
admonished "to convert themselves with all their hearts, since otherwise
they could not properly wait on their office, and the pastor's trials in
the congregation would become too great." (319.) The "small remnant of
the converted" were nurtured by the pastors in "special prayer-meetings
in the houses." (320.) This was the practise of Brunnholtz in
Philadelphia. And Muhlenberg wrote from New York in 1751: "I have
learned that among the Reformed here there is a small body of awakened
souls who hunger and thirst after righteousness. It is said that this
awakening was brought about by the younger of the two Reformed pastors.
My hostess also belongs to the Reformed congregation. Some years ago she
was so terrified by the opinion of the unconditional decree of God that
a hysterical malady set in with which she is still somewhat afflicted. I
searched for the marks of the state of grace. She answered sensibly,
which gave me hope that she is in a state of grace. My host desired me
to go into a private chamber with him and his weak spouse, and to pray
in secret, which we did." "At the close of the day my dear host again
desired that I pray with him and his wife in private, since she thereby
had experienced strength and relief on the former occasion. On the 30th
of July I was taken to the pious English merchant, who had some awakened
souls with him. They sang a psalm, read a chapter from a devotional
book, and urged me to pray at the close. After a time the dear souls
returned to their homes, and I remained with him till eleven o'clock and
employed the time in pleasant and edifying conversation with him and his
godly wife." "August 1, Saturday evening, I preached penitential sermons
both in the German and Dutch languages. . . . The church was well filled
on this occasion, and the parting seemed to touch and sadden the
awakened and well-meaning souls." Weygand continued the work in the
spirit of Muhlenberg, conducting "private hours" with the "awakened
souls," and finding particular delight in some souls who had been
awakened by Wesley. When Whitefield returned to Pennsylvania in 1702,
Dr. Wrangel entered into relations with him and began to conduct
prayer-meetings in a private house in the city, and when the room in
that house could no longer contain the people, Muhlenberg's congregation
granted him the use of their church. When not prevented by other duties,
Muhlenberg regularly attended these English devotional hours. The
congregational constitution of 1762 especially reserved for the pastor
the right to "conduct hours of edification, exhortation, and prayer in
churches and schools, on week-days or evenings, as necessity might
dictate, and as strength and circumstances might permit." (383. 425.
440. 485.) Dr. J. H. C. Helmuth was the first to report on a
revivalistic awakening in his congregation at Lancaster, in 1773. Later
on, 1811, Helmuth, in the name of the Pennsylvania Synod, wrote a
letter to Paul Henkel, then on his missionary tours in Ohio, warning
him not to participate in camp-meetings, "if he should come into contact
with similar aberrations from our Lutheran ways." But even at this time
Synod did not take a decided stand against revivalistic enthusiasm.
Already in the first decades of the nineteenth century reports, coming
out of the Synod, such as the following were heard: "Here the fire is
also burning." "Here we behold miracles of God's grace; everywhere we
find the wounded, the weeping, the moaning, and those who are praying.
Some cried out, 'My God, what shall I do that I may be saved?' Others
asked with tears, 'Can I still be saved?'" (549.) In 1810 the North
Carolina Synod resolved to have Philip Henkel try out a revival, since
such awakenings were also to be desired among Lutherans. During the
revival agitation from 1830 to 1850, the English Lutheran churches
caught the contagion in great numbers. They introduced emotional
preaching, the mourners' bench, protracted meetings, and, vying with the
fanatical sects, denounced as spiritually dead formalists all who
adhered to the old ways of Lutheranism. In its issue of March 21, 1862,
the _Lutheran Observer_ declared that the "Symbolism" of the Old
Lutherans in St. Louis meant the death of the Lutheran Church, which
nothing but revivals were able to save. (_L. u. W_. 1862, 152; 1917,
374.) Muhlenberg's Pietism had helped to prepare the way for this
Methodistic aberration.